How do you respect the rights and dignity of your research collaborators and stakeholders?

1 Know the ethical codes and guidelines

Before you start any research project, you should familiarize yourself with the relevant ethical codes and guidelines that apply to your discipline, institution, and context. These may include professional associations, regulatory bodies, funding agencies, journals, and local laws and customs. Ethical codes and guidelines provide a framework for making ethical decisions and resolving ethical dilemmas in research. They also help you to identify and address potential risks and benefits, conflicts of interest, and power dynamics in your research collaborations and stakeholders.

2 Communicate clearly and honestly

Communication is key to building trust and respect in research collaborations and stakeholder relationships. You should communicate clearly and honestly about your research goals, methods, results, limitations, and implications. You should also acknowledge and credit the contributions of your collaborators and stakeholders, and seek their feedback and input throughout the research process. Communication should be respectful, inclusive, and culturally sensitive, and avoid any form of coercion, deception, or manipulation.

3 Protect the rights and welfare of research participants

Research participants are those who provide data or information for your research, such as through surveys, interviews, experiments, or observations. You should protect the rights and welfare of research participants by obtaining their informed consent, ensuring their confidentiality and anonymity, minimizing any harm or discomfort, and respecting their autonomy and dignity. You should also inform them of their right to withdraw or decline participation at any time, and provide them with the opportunity to access or correct their data or information.

4 Engage with the community and the public

Research can have significant impacts on the community and the public, both positively and negatively. You should engage with the community and the public in a meaningful and respectful way, by involving them in the design, implementation, and dissemination of your research, and by addressing their needs, expectations, and concerns. You should also consider the social, environmental, and ethical implications of your research, and how it can contribute to the public good and the advancement of knowledge.

5 Maintain integrity and quality

Integrity and quality are essential for ensuring the validity and reliability of your research, and for upholding your reputation and credibility as a researcher. You should maintain integrity and quality by following the principles of honesty, accuracy, objectivity, transparency, and accountability in your research. You should also avoid any misconduct or malpractice, such as plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, or misrepresentation of data or information. You should also adhere to the standards of rigor, validity, and reliability in your research methods and analysis.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?